Reyaz Rashid
Baramulla, August 20: Two consecutive earthquakes jolted Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday morning, triggering panic among the local population. Fortunately, there have been no reports of casualties, however, man living in rented accommodation jumped from shoping complex at Madina market Baramulla got injured.
He was rushed to GMC Baramaulla for treatment, locals said.Two houses belonging to Nisar Ahamd mir resident of Mir mahala Saloosaa, Late Mohammed Ramzan Teli, Masjid Imam ul Mutaqeen Iqbal colony Baramulla got damaged in Baramulla.
The first quake, with a magnitude of 4.4 on the Richter scale, occurred at approximately 6:45 AM, with the epicenter believed to be in North Kashmir. Just minutes later, at 6:51 AM, a second tremor with a magnitude of 4.6 shook the region.
According to initial reports, the earthquake’s precise details are as follows: magnitude 4.9, occurring on August 20, 2024, at 06:45:57 IST, with a latitude of 34.17 N, a longitude of 74.16 E, and a depth of 5 kilometers, centered in Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir.
The epicenter was Baramulla for both the jolts and occurred at depth of 5 and 10 kilometers respectively, an official said.
According to the seismic zoning map, prepared by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), India has been divided into four zones viz. zone V, IV, III and II.Out of these zones, Zone V exhibits the highest seismic risk and zone II has the least.
All districts of Kashmir valley and Doda district fall in Seismic Zone-V, and the rest of the districts fall in Seismic Zone-IV.In 2005, a massive quake jolted Jammu and Kashmir. The 7.6 quake caused devastation, mostly in frontier villages particularly in Baramulla (Uri) and Kupwara district.
Authorities are currently assessing the extent of any damage caused by the tremors, and further information is awaited.